Book Review

Dancing Teepees

Kelsey Brown

September 28th, 2011

APA Entry 440

Dancing Teepees, Virginia Sneve. ISBN: 9780823407248

Grade 3, 4, 5, and 6Subjects: art, ELAThemes: fiction

Why book was chosen:

I picked this book because I was looking for resources to help with a music lesson. This book was in another student’s IIK that was music focused, so I thought I would take a look at it and see if it could be useful to me.

Summary:

The author has chosen poetry from several North American Indian cultures. All of the poetry is centred around a theme of youth. They have been translated into English and recorded from oral traditions. There is also artwork by Stephen Gammell, who depicts traditional Aboriginal art forms in his own pieces. The poems include sections of ceremonial songs, poems by the author, tribal lullabies, Aboriginal poets, vernacular songs, traditional prayers, and sections of myths.

Quotes:

  • “The life of a man is a circle from childhood” (page 8)
  • “Dancing teepees/Sleep now on the grassy banks of Cripple Creek/High up in the Rocky Mountains” (page 21)
  • “You will be running to the four corners of/the universe” (page 26)
  • “That elk standing yonder/Watches over all the daughters/On the earth” (page 27)

Art: Grade 6 - 10

GLO 3. Understanding Art in Context

Ie. Students will compare the artwork with the poem it connects to

Music: Grade 6 - 10

GLO 3. Understanding Music in Context

Ie. Students will examine the lyrics of various Aboriginal songs

ELA: Grade 6 - 8

GLO 1. Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.

Ie. Students will read and comprehend the poems to explore Aboriginal culture.

GLO 2, Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, literary, and media text.

Ie. Students will analyze the poems and artwork, and research the culture represented in them.

Thoughts:

This book is definitely geared towards younger students, but there are some things that can still be used with older students. I liked the variety of poems and lyrics in the book. There were examples from many different cultures and many different genres. I would find this resource useful in a choir or music class as well. There are many poems in the collection that are taken from ceremonial songs, prayers, or vernacular songs such as lullabies. I think these would help students understand Native American music a little better, as they are translated into English in the book so students could comprehend the lyrics.

I also like the artwork that was included in the collection. It adds another dimension to the poems, and would help visual learners comprehend the text.

My only question in regard to this text would be where the author got the translations from? Did she do the translations herself? Translating can be difficult, especially when coming from an oral tradition.

Transformed Thoughts:

I think this text would be a good resource for younger students. The poems themselves are about youth, so perhaps they would be able to apply the poems to their own lives. Since a lot of the poems are actually lyrics or part of a prayer, it should be fairly easy to find recordings of the pieces. There would at least be something similar that the students could listen to in order to understand the poem at another level.

This resource also fits in will with my theme, which is based on the medicine wheel teachings. Many of these poems are part of ceremonies or prayers, which connects closely with the spirituality of Aboriginal people.

This resource would help students to understand the traditions of Aboriginal people better as well. One of the truest representations of a culture is their songs, ceremonies, and prayers. By including pieces from many different tribes, the author provides a broad view of the Aboriginal people as a whole.

I would highly recommend this book.